Our mission is to achieve social justice

Established in 2009 to honor and continue the work of social justice advocate, Barbara McDowell, the Foundation aims to improve the economic well-being, social conditions, and civil liberties of disadvantaged persons and groups in the United States.

We fulfill our mission by making grants to organizations that undertake systemic, social justice litigation and by coordinating direct, pro bono litigation through our High Impact Litigation Project, both focusing on:

Since its inception in 2009, the Barbara McDowell Foundation has supported 65 social justice litigation cases with nearly $1,400,000 in grants to 49 organizations and coordinated some 20 cases and investigations as part of its High Impact Litigation Project